This invention relates to conductive polymers having conductivity of at least 10.sup.-7 reciprocal ohm-cm at 25.degree. C., both of the semiconductor type and of the metal type.
Largely insulating polymers are broadly known having conductivities (300.degree. K.) ranging from about 10.sup.-30 to 10.sup.-10 reciprocal ohm-cm (Polymer 9 159-172 (1968).
Moreover conductive polymers are known, in particular as obtained from polyacetylene, which can be semiconducting or metallic, using various electron acceptor or also electron donor dopants such as particularly arsenic pentafluoride (electron acceptor) and potassium (electron donor).
More recently, some of us have discovered such conductive polymers obtained from poly(para-phenylene) containing dopants as used for polyacetylene. (U.S. application Ser. No. 022,237 now abandoned of D. M. Ivory et al. filed Mar. 20, 1979 and the continuation-in-part thereof, Ser. No. 234,511 filed Feb. 17, 1981).
Recently also, conductive polymers obtained by electrolytically oxidizing a mix of pyrrole monomers to form polypyrrole copolymers have been reported (Physics Today, Sept. 1979, pg. 21, ref. 7: K. Kanazawa et al., J.C.S. Chem. Comm. 397 (1980). The conductivity of these copolymers is stated to vary by five orders of magnitude, to metallic conductivities, without use of a separate doping process.
Although the above noted polyacetylene and poly(para-phenylene) polymers are obtainable as linear rather than network polymers, they are insoluble and infusible. This may be because their conjugated structure results in a comparatively stiff main chain so that conventional polymer processing to provide shaped articles is not possible except by compression of particles into a shape, followed by sintering to consolidate the particles in the desired shape.
What is needed in the art is a plastic both capable of melt or solution processing into shaped articles and transformable into a conducting complex melt-or solution-processible polymer, susceptible to being doped to impart semiconductor and/or metallic conductor properties. The resulting conductive articles should have utility in the fields of lightweight antistatic materials, electromagnetic shields, electrostatic shields, electrical conduits, electroplatable substrates, optically or capacitatively readable information storage materials, conductive paints, conductive adhesives, electrodes for photochemical reactions, battery electrodes; and in general could be used similarly to semiconductors and metals to produce various electronic devices. The present invention is directed to meeting the foregoing and other needs of the art.